Oscillating bed



Jan. 2o, 1959 f J. H. HAWK 2,869,538

OSCILLATING BED Filed May 24, 1954 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 III IHM

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2,869,538 oscnLLArlNG BED s lames Hawk, Indianapolis, Ind. ApplicationMay 24, 1954, SeriaiNo. 431,644 s Claims. (Cl. 12s-29) This inventionrelates to a bed or bed-supporting table which oscillates or rocks intwo planes, to stimulate the life processes of a patient on the bed.

It ,is frequently desirable, as in the treatment of circulatory'ailmentsand in the Acare of premature babies, to support the lpatient on a bedwhich gently rocks or oscillates to stimulate the life processes of thepatient, especially the blood circulation and respiration. The care ofpremature babies oifers great possibilities for saving their lives andlowering the infant death rate, and such rocking treatment is ofadvantage in such care.

, It is` the object of this 'invention to provide a bed or a`bed-support which will give an improved oscillating or rockingtreatment, and produce amore elfectivestimulation. @It is an object `ofthe invention to provide a bed or bed-support which is rocked about atransverse axis in a motion which can be referred to as pitch and isalso rocked about a longitudinal axis in a motion which can be referredto as roll, and in which the pitch and roll can be at dierent rates andcan be varied in degree, and in which the one or both movements includecomponents of translation. It is a further object of the invention toprovide such a` device which is relatively simple in construction andwhich is thoroughly reliable.

In accordance with the invention, a bed is supported for rockingmovement in two planes, desirably with each movement including acomponent of translation. The bed is preferably mounted on a pair ofcrossed axes, which permit the desired rocking movements but hold thebed against movement in other directions. The two axes are desirablyspaced below the bed to provide components of translation. Independentlyadjustable driving means are connected to effect the two rockingmovements, and both are preferably operated at different speeds from thesame power source.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of apparatus embodying the invention andproviding a rocking support for an infant incubator, with the front sidewall of the base cabinet omitted to expose the driven mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the driving mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an iso-metric view of the incubator-supporting table; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the variable-throw crank used in thedriving mechanisms shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The device shown in the drawings comprises a base cabinet 10, desirablyenclosed by side and end doors or walls as shown in Fig. 2. A shelf 12within the cabinet provides a support for the driving mechanism. The top14 of the base desirably carries posts 16 at its four corners to limitthe tilting movement of the incubatorsupporting table 13 mounted aboveit, in the event of any breakage of the driven mechanism.

The table 18 is formed to receive an incubator 29, and has rim blocks 19at its ends to retain the incubator in place. 'Ihe table 1S is supportedfrom the base cabinet 111 by a pair of crossed shafts 211 and 22. The

a, assauts shaft 20 extends transversely of the cabinet top 14 and isYsupported for pivotal movement in a pair of spaced pillow blocks 24.The center ofthe transverse shaft 20, carries a block 26 in which theshaft isfixed and which moves pivotally with the shaft. The longitudinalshaft -22 is carried by and fixed in the block26, preferably crossingabove the shaft 20, andv is journalled in a pair of spaced pillow blocks28 secured to the table 18. The Atable 18 is thus mounted for pitchmovements about the transversevr shaft 20 and for ,roll movements aboutthe longitudinal shaft 22. The shafts are positioned below the level ofthe bed 27 of the incubator 29 carried by the table 18, and themovements of the bed as it tilts about the shaft will therefore includecomponents of translation,V with the greatest amount of translationoccurring in longitudinal tilting about the lowermost shaft 2G.

, The driving mechanism supported on the shelf 12 com prisesnan electricmotor 30 connected by a belt 32 to a pulley 34 carried by a worm shaft36. The worm 38 on this shaftdrives a worm wheel 40 carried. by a mainshaft 42 mounted in suitable bearings 44 fixed on the shelf 12. At itsinner end, the shaft is connected by bevel gearing 46 to a cross Vshaft48. j The outer end of each of the shafts 42 and 48 carries avariable-throw crank as shown in Eig. V4. This comprises a radiallyextending arm 5t! fixed to the shaft land carrying atvits ends a pair ofbolts 52. The bolts ,secure to Vthe arm 50 a, radially adjustable slide54 provided Ywith longitudinal slots 56 through which thebolts52"'pass.l The 'center of the slide 54 carries a ball 58 for aball-joint connection with a pitman rod. The adjustable-throw crankcarried by the main driving shaft 42, which extends longitudinally ofthe cabinet, drives a pitman rod 60 whichvis connected by a ball jointto a support 62 at one end of the table 18. The adjustable-throw crankcarried by the cross shaft 4S is similarly connected by a pitrnan rod 64to a support 66 at one side of the table 1S. Each pitman rod 69 and 64is desirably adjustable in length, and as shown, comprises a screw 67carried with the ball socket 68 and threaded into the main portion ofthe rod 6i) or 64, with a loc-k nu* 69 to lock it in adjusted position.

The two shafts 42 and 48 may be driven at any desired speeds, with thespeeds of the two shafts in any desired relationship. For driving anincubator table, I desirably drive the main shaft 42 at about 8 R. P.M., so that the table 18 is given a pitch movement of 8 cycles perminute. With that speed of the main shaft, I desirably drive the crossshaft 48 at about 4 R. P. M., so that its crank will give the table aroll movement of 4 cycles per minute. The table will thus be rockedsimultaneously about the two crossed axes of the shafts 2@ and 22 atdifferent rates, and will thus have a continuously varying combinedmovement.

The lengths of the pitman rods 60 and 64 are desirably adjusted toposition the table 18 level when the cranks are in neutral position. Thecranks can be adjusted to give any desired range of movements, andeither crank can be adjusted to a zero-throw position so that it holdsthe table 1S against rocking movement in i the direction which itcontrols.

In use, the incubator 29 is supported on the table 111, and the twocranks are adjusted to give the desired degree of rockingv movements,the crank carried by the main shaft 42 being adjusted to control thepitch movements, and the crank carried by the cross shaft 48 beingadjusted to vary the roll movements. The device rocks the table aboutthe crossed axes of the shafts 20 and 22 at different rates and throughthe ranges of movements determined by the adjustment of the crank. Eachmovement includes a component of translation, and the different ratesresult in a combined movement which continuously varies. vThe combinedmotion produces an especially effective stimulating action on a baby inthe incubator 70.

Obviously, the device can be built in any suitable size, to take anysize incubator, or to take a full size bed; and instead of providing atable to support the incubator or bed, the bed maybe built as anintegral part of the device.

l claim as my invention:

1. A rocking-bed device, comprising a pair of crossed tilt shafts, afixed bearing support supporting one tilt shaft, the second tilt shaftbeing supported in proximate crossed relation on said one tilt shaft,means to support a bed on said second tilt shaft, a main drive shaft, across drive shaft, crankson said drive shafts, and .pitman rodsrespectively connecting said cranks to the bed-supporting means to rockthe bed about the two tilt shafts, and means to drive the drive shafts.v

2. A rocking-bed device as defined in claim 1 in which the drive shaftsare drivingly interconnected to operate at different speeds.

3. A rocking-bed device as set forth in claim 1,. in which the driveshafts are respectively connected to cause roll and pitch movements ofthe becl` and theroll-producing shaft is driven slower than'thepitch-producing shaft.

4. A rocking bed device, comprising means for supporting a bed forindependent tilting movement about longitudinal and transverse axeswithin the projected area of the bed, a pair of cranks respectivelyconnected to said means to rock the bed about said respective axes, anddriving means to drive the cranks at different speeds.

5. A rocking bed device as set forth in claim 4 in A transversely andlongitudinally of the incubator, operating means operatively connectedto tilt the incubator cyclically through a predetermined pitch movementabout the transverse axis atone rate, operating means operativelyconnected to tilt the incubator cyclically through a predetermined rollmovement about the longitudinal axis at a different rate,V and means todrive said operating means.

8. An incubator rocking device according to claim 7 in which the axescross within the vertically projected area of the baby-supportingV bedarea of the incubator and the transverse'axis is below the plane Vof thebabysupporting bed surface of the incubator.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,602,196 r Iverson Oct. 5, 1926 1,686,979 McManis Oct. 9, 19281,791,777 Webb Feb. 10,1931 2,311,542 Holme Feb. 16, 1943 2,350,563Logan June 6, 1944

